How to Make the Most of Facebook Ads for Real Estate Investors

If you are looking for a way to expand your market and reach your target audience, Facebook provides all the tools you need through paid advertising. Facebook Ads gives you the ability to reach qualified leads while maximizing your marketing dollars. You can target each ad according to key demographics such as age, location, interests, and consumer behavior.

Facebook Ads also gives you a more direct approach so that you can engage your audience and build a culture around your home investment business. When combined with social media, you can also drive more traffic to your website, putting you ahead of the competition and boosting your search engine rankings.

Below, we look at how you can make the most of Facebook Ads. If you have any questions on how to get started on Facebook, Motivated Seller Prospects can help launch your ad campaign today.

Two Main Types of Facebook Ads

On any given visit, the average Facebook user sees hundreds of posts and ads while scrolling through the newsfeed. The type of ad you place on Facebook will determine whether they stop scrolling and click on the ad or keep going. There are two main types of Facebook ads: static and dynamic. What’s the difference?

Static Facebook Ads

While static ads are mostly images, they can also include page posts and page likes. They may appear on your page, in the newsfeed, or the side rail (margins) on your desktop and in the newsfeed on your mobile device. How you design and optimize the image will determine the amount of interest it receives from the audience.

Some ways to make your static images more interesting include

• Use personal images, not stock photos.
• Take advantage of seasons or upcoming holidays.
• Center your images around regionally or nationally trending topics.
• Use high-definition images or graphics.
• Make sure your images or graphics are uncluttered, and the marketing message is clear.

Note: Facebook does not allow image ads to contain more than 20 percent text. So make sure you are compliant with Facebook’s policies. Review them regularly, as they may change.

Dynamic Facebook Ads

While some dynamic ads include photos, most marketers associate dynamic ads with videos. Videos draw more than half of viewers to social media platforms than any other form of media. So, if you want to get and maintain your audience’s attention, add videos to your content. As with static ads, your videos can show up on your FB page, newsfeed, or the side rail.

Here are some tips for optimizing your videos:

• Keep your videos short - two minutes or less. Long videos are boring.
• Try to use humor as much as possible. Comedy is popular with viewers.
• Create evergreen topics. These are topics and videos that you can recycle or use for an extended period. 
• Experiment with different types of videos. Predictable videos will be ignored.
• Create videos that have the potential to go viral. 
• Tag people that are in the video. Do not tag people that are not in the video.

So, which is better - static or dynamic Facebook ads. The simple answer: videos. Dynamic videos will get you more attention, expand your audience quickly, and build a connection with your current audience. They also create more credibility with potential leads.

Tips for Targeting Your Facebook Ads

One of the keys to a successful Facebook ad is to target your campaign to qualified leads who will take action (i.e., pick up the phone) and contact your company. There are three main things you need to consider when targeting your ads.

1. Facebook’s Housing Policy

According to Facebook, there is a fine line between targeting and discrimination. One helps you find the motivated seller you are looking for. The other eliminates certain people based on gender, age, income, etc. When creating Facebook ads, make sure that you adhere to Facebook’s Housing, Employment, and Credit Ads policies. Violating these policies may prevent you from creating ads. Facebook may also reserve the right to shut down your FB page.

2. Use Facebook Pixel on Your Website or Landing Page

One way to work within Facebook’s discrimination policy and still track your ads is through the Facebook pixel. The pixel performs two vital functions. First, it collects data, which you will use to optimize your ads. Second, it tracks conversions, which gives you an idea of how your campaigns are performing. 

3. Creating a List of Contacts/Potential Leads

Lists help you target people in Facebook ads. You can gather lists of emails and phone numbers that you collect direct mail, email campaigns, cold calling, or SMS campaigns. Use the contact information that you collect and upload it to Facebook. Doing so can help you fine-tune your target market. 

Facebook Ads vs. Lead Forms

In the world of marketing, there is an ongoing debate on whether you are more likely to get leads from Facebook ads or lead forms (a.k.a., lead capture forms). Before we answer that question, you need to know what a lead form is. 

A lead form is simply a contact form that a potential lead fills out when they want you to contact them. You probably have lead forms on various pages across your website. One of the ways that we use lead forms is by adding them to landing pages. Despite the debate, there is no doubt that lead forms are effective in generating leads. That is why we use them. 

However, when it comes to QUALIFIED leads, Facebook is more effective than lead forms. Why? Because Facebook allows you to target your audience by creating your parameters. You may get leads from a lead form, but they may not be qualified leads. As a result, your ROI is much lower than it is with Facebook ads.

Our recommendation: based on past performance and hard data, our clients get more qualified leads with Facebook than lead forms. This is why we use Facebook as a primary form of marketing and supplement FB ads with lead forms on landing pages.

Note: Regardless of where your leads come from, call your leads within five minutes of receiving them for best results!

Contact MSP for Marketing and Ad Solutions

If you are ready to take your real estate investment business to the next level, contact Motivated Seller Prospects today. Learn more about how we can help you implement the Motivated Seller Prospects Marketing Program in your area. To check the availability of your market, fill out our application form or contact us at (877) 404-1161, and we will walk you through the process. We work with a limited number of real estate investors per market, so claim my market today.